Bring Me to Life
by Dragonfire707
Summary: Oneshot. In the middle of a raging storm, an army of shadows launches a surprise attack on the Princess...and the only one there to save her is a shadow hidden among shadows.


**Bring Me to Life**

**By Dragonfire**

**(Song by Evanescence)**

**AU: Okay this one's a bit darker than usual…it was something I wrote at midnight, I swear. Was late for class the next day but that's not unusual. =) Anyway, I would highly recommend - as with any songfic - listening to the actual song as you read this, if at all possible. This was the first one that was actually kinda synchronized to the instrumentals, and it'd really help with the visual picture. So enjoy! :D **

Deep in the silence of an expectant crowd, hidden amid the dead shadows, a young man stood near a doorway, black-blue eyes fastened above, almost as if lifted to the heavens. All that could be seen of him were the two glints of light reflecting in his black eyes, and the barest outline of his body, blending perfectly with the darkness.

A tremendous bellow of thunder blasted throughout the hall, echoing against the cavernous walls and so loud it seemed to vibrate straight to the bone. Several people, decked out in exquisite finery, flinched, but this living shadow stood unmoving, rock-solid, emotionless. For all the rest of them knew, he was merely…nonexistent.

Another blast of thunder, heralding the opening of the doors above the grand staircase. The thick doors glided open, shining dimly in the single candlelight of the landing, silent and slow, and amid the darkness, a goddess appeared.

She stood like a queen above the rest of them, shining with an ethereal brilliance in a dress of the purest white. He waited in the shadows, stared, didn't blink, as she took her first steps forward and started her way down the staircase.

Relena stepped carefully; this night, she could feel something in the air. Something was different about this ball…something dark and sinister, beckoning to her while her mind tried to resist. There was a thick, choking silence all around her as she descended, down to the shadows, but for some reason…for some strange reason…she could hear music. A piano, alone but not lonely, playing a haunting melody through her mind.

A flash of lightning illuminated the crowd below for a split second, revealing faces upturned to her in an eerie blue-white light that seemed otherworldly. Then the light disappeared, and she was sweeping down to the crowd below once again. The ballroom was completely darkened; all was terrible, murky blackness…beckoning to her, urging her downwards. The single candle illuminated her, allowing her beauty to be seen by all, and the radiant dress of pure, unchanging white to swirl and billow in the only light, it seemed, in all the world.

Another bolt of lightning, and her piercing light eyes found what they were searching for; there, in the shadows, the lightning had sought him out and found him. Somehow, she knew he would be there, and as their eyes met, black-blue met untainted sapphire, light met dark, and all at once she knew what he was thinking.

How can you see into my eyes

Like open doors

Leading you down into my core

Where I've become so numb

The sinister shadows in her heart, her mind, grew and lengthened until she realized that he was feeling it, too; that sense of something of the dark residing in the presence of a goddess. He stared at her as she kept descending, their eyes locked, illuminated in the flashes of lightning, while both waited for something unknown.

Then his eyes broke from hers, and she tripped a step.

Without a soul

My spirit sleeping somewhere cold

There were shadows alive down there, amid the darkness, shadows that were crawling, moving, all heading towards that light. A flash of lightning, and he saw the dark come to life, saw the danger for what it was, and felt ice run through his veins. Heart leaping, he turned to stare at her, calling a warning - and after just a split second, he saw it: saw the sudden, innocent terror in her eyes, and he knew …

Until you find it there and lead it

Back home

…that she knew.

(Wake me up)

Wake me up inside

(I can't wake up)

Wake me up inside

(Save me)

Call my name and save me from the dark

A blast of brilliant, blinding red light, a roar a hundred times more deafening than the thunder, and the horrified screams of the wounded - and instantly dying - rent the air. The shadows, in black suits, were still moving, unshaken by the roof exploding into nothing and the evil of the storm outside blasting into the ballroom.

(Wake me up)  
bid my blood to run  
(I can't wake up)  
before I come undone  
(Save me)  
save me from the nothing I've become

The haunting phrase of the piano in Relena's mind burst into a sudden torrent of sound as her world flew into hell. as the men in black suits pressed closer, the rain assaulted her dress, drenching her in a surge of freezing pain. People were screaming, shrieking, the stench of human terror, pure and overwhelming, turned her stomach and nearly made her retch.

And then the world jolted, twisted, tilted horribly, wrongly, and Relena found herself sliding sideways across the stairs. A blast of heat struck her from behind, mingling strangely with the ice of the rain on her skin. She fell, clutching the banister, and stared downwards.

Now that I know what I'm without

You can't just leave me

He saw it; saw the second, brief flash of light and knew what they had done: the staircase was collapsing. The candle on the landing was long gone, extinguished by the fury of the raging storm that made her dress billow like a beacon in the blasting gale. He met her eyes yet again, felt the fear creeping up his back, and began moving.

It was instinct; he forced his way, drawing the hidden pistol and meeting the opposition with his steely glare and lightning-quick agility. The shadows arose before him, menacing demons with nothing in their eyes but empty evil, but the beacon of light was just before him, watching, and that was all he needed.

Breathe into me and make me real

With a shot of the pistol, lost in a furious blast of thunder, another demon dropped to a floor slick with rain and blood and cleared the way to the staircase. Fire reached high into the night sky, defying the rain, stretching its murderous fingers to the flash of pristine white clutching tight to the slanting banister. Five more seconds and she would freefall thirty feet.

The demons were back, were aiming at her, and he had no where to turn, nothing to do - he was too late. The staircase gave a final, shrieking scream, and then broke in a blazing inferno of heat. A scream rent the air, a sick, evil pleasure radiating from the demons, and she was falling, an angel of heaven plummeting to the depths of the underworld.

There was no thought, just movement; he dashed, and just barely in time, she fell into his arms, white fabric floating against the black of his clothing.

Bring me to life

She met his eyes once more, this time just inches away from his face, and he was lost in time for a moment as he felt her skin against his, her ragged breath lightly brushing his face.

The demons -

(Wake me up)

Wake me up inside

He took off, dashing behind whatever cover he could find as bullets tore at his clothing, all around him, though none found their deadly mark. The exit was looming, large and summoning, drawing him towards it as his only hope.

(I can't wake up)

Wake me up inside

They were after him again, those dogs of hell, biting at his heels as they struggled for the princess. Clutching her with one arm, pressing her body to his protectively, he lifted the other and shot bullet after bullet into the teeming hordes of black shadows.

(Save me)

Call my name and save me from the dark

"Heero!"

Her voice made him spin; behind him, a monster was taking careful aim. Fire blasted from his pistol and the monster dropped to the floor, black blood leaking over onto the floor.

(Wake me up)  
Bid my blood to run

(I can't wake up)

Before it comes undone

(Save me)

Save me from the nothing I've become

He turned again, saw the freedom, the safety, of the exit, and began moving again. But something was wrong, something was very wrong. Knowing instinctively where to look, his gaze traveled downwards and met her eyes.

She gazed up at him in pure fear. His gaze kept moving, and found it there - on her dress -

Frozen inside without your touch

Without your love, darling

- the sick red of blood, the black of a gunshot wound.

Only you are the life among the dead

The exit was blocked now, and no longer were his thoughts clear, his movements precise; the blood dripping down his arms belonged to her, and nothing was right. The darkness was closing in, pushing on all sides, as he kept running - but there - a side staircase, leading up into a side hall on the third story - high, high up amid the shattered roof and howling winds. No options.

He ran harder than ever before in his life.

All this time I can't believe I couldn't see

Kept in the dark - but you were there in front of me

They followed, the demons, howling in unrestrained fury as he eluded them by inches, by a footstep. He tore across the ballroom, reached the staircase, and moved faster, spurred on by the fear in her eyes and the fact that she was slowly going still. The demons shrieked and came after him - he felt a blast of fire-hot pain as a fragment of the darkness embedded itself in his side, but ignored it.

I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems

Got to open my eyes to everything

He felt her fingers tighten their grip on his collar and glanced at her face as he darted up the stairs. There was more terror in those brilliant eyes than he had ever seen.

Without a voice

Without a soul

Her voice came to his mind rather than his ears, pleading, her heart hearing his and begging a response -

Don't let me die here

They reached the top of the stairs, bullets shattering the expensive decorations, nipping greedily at their feet. He pulled her to safety, glanced around, and then realized that there was no way out.

There must be something more

Bring me to life

A single huge window reflected their image, allowed him to see the panic and fear intermingled on his face, brought into stark relief the deep sinister red of the blood on her white dress. No doors, no way down except the staircase, which was teeming with the army of evil…

(Wake me up)

Wake me up inside

(I can't wake up)

Wake me up inside

She saw it the same time he did, realized exactly what he meant to do. The third story looked over the grounds, and in the flashes of lightning she could see the only chance for their freedom. As the pain and fear washed over her, she bit her lip, turned to meet his questioning eyes, and gave a single nod.

(Save me)

He dropped the gun, held her with both arms, and took a running start. They darted through the darkness as the demons screamed angrily, and the last thing Relena saw was his face, illuminated by a bolt of lightning -

Call my name and save me from the dark

- as they crashed through the window.

(Wake me up)

Bid my blood to run

They were plummeting to the ground, wind howling in their ears, pulled together into one person, one being, as she held onto him for dear life.

(I can't wake up)

Before I come undone

The pain was gnawing at her, the thunder was crashing, and as the ground came closer and closer, he felt her go limp and pass into darkness.

(Save me)

Save me from the nothing I've become

---------------

She came to her senses again by a softer rain, a kinder rain, soothing her wound and washing the blood from her dress. Relena opened her eyes, looked out at the familiar landscape of her own house, and pulled herself to her feet. Her hands on the balcony, she realized she was home…and alone.

(Bring me to life)

The storm had abated, the rain falling gently now…and as she stared out at the softer shadows of her home, and safety…he was gone, and from somewhere deep in her mind came the haunting strains of a piano.


End file.
